Time Longford's regeneration drive sees 'bricks and mortar' sooner rather than later, insists Flaherty
Longford's well documented regeneration impetus needs to start seeing "bricks and mortar" sooner rather than later, it has been claimed.
That's the view put forward by Fianna Fáil Longford-Westmeath TD Joe Flaherty this afternoon after council bosses yesterday revealed its chosen location for a new, state of the art civic headquarters.
Mr Flaherty said while it was his own "personal view" the new offices would have been better served in a repurposed Connolly Barracks as opposed to the Council's choice of Great Water Street, it was imperative the focus on kickstarting a wider regeneration drive was not lost.
"The new civic headquarters is central to the Camlin Quarter plan and it's vital that feeds into it (regeneration)," he said.
No specific location for the new offices have been revealed, but Mr Flaherty said there was a pressing need for progress to be made in kickstarting the county town's regeneration blueprint.
"As soon as possible," he said, in response to when work might commence on a project that is expected to run into tens of millions of euros.
"There has been over €10m allocated for the Camlin Quarter and it's vital people stay engaged with it. In order to do that, we need to see bricks and mortar soon."